It’s not hard labor! Baidu map collectors appear on CCTV again to share the secret weapon of data production

Baidu Maps data collectors are on TV again! After participating in Hunan TV's "Day Day Up" program to reveal the "black technology" of various data collection, and sharing his life on the road for more than 350 days a year on CCTV's online Spring Festival Gala, during this May Day holiday, another Baidu Maps real-life map collector Zhu Zichen appeared on CCTV-9's "Hi New Occupation" program, telling the story of his pursuit of "poetry and distance" in the process of collecting map data.

(Photo: CCTV-9 documentary channel "Hi New Occupation" program reports on Baidu Maps real-life map collectors)

"Hi New Occupation" is a new documentary program about occupations broadcast by CCTV-9 Documentary Channel on May 1 this year. It tells the stories of real new occupations and individuals, how to innovate thinking, embrace change, overcome difficulties, and realize self-worth, showing the powerful beating of China's economic and social pulse. Before the National Day tourism peak season last year, in order to allow users who travel by car in Yunnan to plan their routes in advance according to the real road environment, Zhu Zichen, a real-life map collector of Baidu Maps, went to popular tourist cities in Yunnan to collect data. He drove all the way from Shangri-La City to Deqin County, and on the way there were both winding mountain roads and virgin forests. The collection area covered most of the Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture. The intelligent map data production method allowed him to collect data efficiently throughout the process.

(Photo: CCTV-9 documentary channel "Hi New Occupation" program reports on Baidu Maps real-life map collectors)

In the actual data collection process, Zhu Zichen only needs to drive steadily for road data. The equipment on the roof of the data collection vehicle will directly record the image information of the road, transmit it to the on-board computer, and submit it to the headquarters after the mission is completed. For hiking routes, you need to use a panoramic data collection backpack. The upper part of the backpack has a collection head, a fisheye lens and a SLR camera to ensure the high clarity of the panoramic view. The lower part contains an industrial computer and an inertial navigation system, which collects and processes information in real time. On average, a panoramic view can be taken every five meters, and the image can be presented immediately.

(Photo: Baidu Map Panoramic Collection Vehicle)

(Photo: Baidu Map Panoramic Collection Backpack)

It is understood that for a long time before, map data collection was a hard job, from discovering road signs and road signs to recording important coordinates, all work was done by manpower. Not only was it time-consuming and inefficient, it was unable to adapt to the rapid development of road changes in various parts of my country. When collecting data in the southwest and other regions, it also faced multiple challenges such as bad weather and complex road conditions.

Baidu Maps has continuously strengthened its data collection capabilities in the past few years. Through professional data collection personnel and equipment, coupled with AI technology, map data collection is no longer a "slow job". Since the establishment of its own data collection team in 2013, Baidu Maps has established China's leading data production team with top AI technology. The team has 300 professional data collection vehicles, as well as professional equipment such as indoor map collection backpacks, panoramic collection backpacks, and panoramic collection drones. Different types of work such as vehicle collectors and walking collectors are equipped with different equipment to collect data on roads and street scenes in open areas, as well as scenic spots and parks in closed areas. Even data collection in high-altitude areas and mountains and rivers is not a problem. Today, the sixth-generation integrated data collection vehicle has also been fully put into production, providing hard-core support for data collection work.

On the other hand, Baidu Maps' data collection mode has also changed from "regional scheduled collection mode" to "dynamic AI intelligent update". AI map data production includes four major links: information acquisition, data collection, data production, and dynamic correction. In these four major links, Baidu Maps must first perceive the changes in real roads based on hundreds of millions of trajectory data, remote sensing data, and Internet data every day; secondly, it must dispatch collection vehicles to the scene in real time, and transmit data back through end-cloud collaboration; finally, it uses AI technologies such as image recognition to dynamically correct the data and quickly update the road database.

Under the new generation of data production model, 90% of Baidu Maps' data production links have been AI-based, covering more than 10 million kilometers of road mileage, and the production efficiency has increased by more than 30 times compared with traditional production processes. After 8 years of dedicated "cultivation", the panoramic map has exceeded 1.3 billion panoramic photos, covering the main road networks of more than 95% of cities in China, and achieving 500,000 businesses. Based on rich panoramic data, Baidu Maps provides exclusive panoramic services in scenarios such as bus route planning end, walking navigation end, POI point search, and surrounding exploration, allowing users to see what they get and travel more conveniently. At the same time, Baidu Maps has also accumulated a huge amount of big data to open up an intelligent upgrade path for a large number of ecological partners, allowing industries such as transportation, logistics, and life services to move towards a new pattern of development.

Now is the May Day holiday. Every time we drive smoothly and every time we follow the AI ​​tour guide to enjoy the scenery in the scenic area, it is inseparable from the "advance exploration" of Baidu Map data collectors and AI technology. They not only record the rapid changes in the country's roads, but also provide strong guarantees for users' daily travel.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.